WASH News Southern Africa
News feed maintained by information specialists from IRC and partners.
World Bank Water Week 2009 Africa presentations online
05 Mar 09
Water Week took place at the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC from February 17-20, 2009. The event was organized by the Water Anchor in partnership with the Water Sector Board. Titled “Tackling Global Water Challenges”, the discussions focused on the urgent challenges currently faced by the water community including inter alia: adapting to climate [...]
Zimbabwe: Advocating for sustainable hygiene behaviour through television
05 Mar 09
The Institute of Water and Sanitation Development as a key capacity building organisation in Zimbabwe has been educating communities on issues around the cholera pandemic through television programmes and is embarking on a long standing partnership with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holding, writes the editorial team of Water Voice, IWSD Newsletter 1st Issue, 2009. Of note [...]
Zimbabwe: cholera still not under control, repairing sewage systems essential
22 Feb 09
Despite a decrease of the crude case fatality rate, the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe is still not under control, says OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. As of 19 February 2009, there have been 80,250 registered cholera cases and 3,759 deaths. Case attendance to health facilities is improving as a result [...]
Malawi: US pledges 100 water PlayPumps for schools
16 Feb 09
The United States will donate 100 water PlayPumps to primary schools in the country from a total of 650 pumps being donated to several African states, the US ambassador to Malawi Peter Bodde said on Thursday, [12 February 2009]. Bodde said this at Chimutu Primary School in Traditional Authority Tsabango’s area in Lilongwe when he [...]
South Africa: The quiet water crisis
08 Feb 09
Concerned with a cholera threat from its northern neighbour, Zimbabwe, South Africa could be overlooking a creeping water crisis of its own, as ageing infrastructure and rising demand spew potentially deadly bacteria into its water systems.[Although] access to water has increased dramatically [since the end of apartheid in 1994], backlogs persist: in 2008, about 5 [...]
Zimbabwe: Worst-case cholera scenario getting worse
06 Feb 09
Zimbabwe’s worst-case cholera scenario, as predicted by the World Health Organization (WHO), is likely to be surpassed within a few weeks and there are still about two months of the rainy season left.In December 2008 the WHO said cholera cases could balloon to 60,000 before the rainy season ended in March 2009, but Gregory Härtl, [...]
Malawi: rains expose poor sanitation
06 Feb 09
Malawi is [...] battling a cholera outbreak which has killed 19 people [in Lilongwe] since the onset of the rainy season, an unusually high death toll. Up to 485 cases of the epidemic have since been registered and treated. World Health Organisation records from the 2007/2008 rainy season indicate not even a single cholera case [...]
DR Congo: UK gives UNICEF 37 million USD to boost the attainment of MDG on water and sanitation
06 Feb 09
UNICEF Representative to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Pierrette Vu Thi together with British Secretary for International Cooperation, Alexander Douglas signed a cooperation agreement for an estimated US$37 million dollars [in Kinshasa on 06 January 2009].The programme supports the national strategy of promoting improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene in rural and peri-urban [...]
Zimbabwe: Gates awards Oxfam America $1 million for cholera response
06 Feb 09
International relief and development agency Oxfam America has been awarded $1 million by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to respond to a deadly cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe. The funding will support Oxfam’s work to help 135,000 people have access to safe water and sanitation facilities and reduce the spread of the disease in addition [...]
Mozambique: “Model Institutions” in Hygiene Campaign
06 Feb 09
The national hygiene and sanitation campaign, launched ten months ago, has succeeded in creating a series of “model institutions” across Mozambique, according to Health Minister Ivo Garrido.[T]hese were institutions that had followed basic hygiene rules, provided access to clean water, and had decent sanitation facilities for their workers.Among such institutions, said Garrido, were the Angonia [...]
